Question 1

Question 4Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.

Accepted Answer

Print culture played a significant role in fostering the growth of nationalism in India during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The introduction and widespread dissemination of print media, including newspapers, books, pamphlets, and journals, had a profound impact on shaping and strengthening the nationalist movement. Newspapers and journals facilitated the dissemination of news, opinions, and developments related to the nationalist cause, creating a sense of awareness among the masses. Debates and discussions in the print media contributed to the formation of a collective consciousness among Indians, fostering a shared sense of identity and purpose. Nationalist newspapers grew in numbers in all parts of India. They reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities. "Kesari" was a Marathi-language newspaper that played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. The newspaper was founded by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. It carried reports of nationalist activities, speeches, and events, encouraging people to participate in the movement for independence.

Question 2

Question 1Give reasons for the following:(a) Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.(b) Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.(c) The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited books from the mid-sixteenth century.(d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Accepted Answer

(a) Woodblock printing originated in China around the sixth century. Marco Polo was the Italian explorer who visited China. There he learnt the technology of woodblock printing. When he returned to Italy in 1295, he brought this knowledge back with him. Gradually, this knowledge spread from Italy to other parts of Europe.(b) According to Martin Luther printing was God's ultimate and greatest gift. His views against the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church became popular due to printing. He felt that print will bring about a new intellectual atmosphere and help spread the new ideas. Therefore, Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.(c) The Roman Church imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558 because popular religious literature stimulated many distinctive individual interpretations of faith and the Roman Church was troubled by effects of popular readings and questionings of faith. For example, Menocchio, a miller in Italy, began to read books that were available in his locality. He reinterpreted the message of the Bible and formulated a view of God and Creation that enraged the Roman Catholic Church. He was arrested and questioned twice and finally executed.(d) Gandhi's vision of Swaraj was not limited to just political independence but extended to the comprehensive empowerment of individuals in all aspects of life. He saw the principles of free speech, a free press, and freedom of association as integral to building a just and self-reliant society. According to Gandhiji, liberty of speech, liberty of press and freedom of association were three most powerful vehicles of expressing and cultivating public opinion. Therefore, he said that the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Question 3

Question 2Write short notes to show what you know about:(a) The Gutenberg Press(b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book(c) The Vernacular Press Act

Accepted Answer

(a) The Gutenberg Press — Gutenberg was the son of a merchant. He invented Gutenberg press. Gutenberg adapted existing technology to design his innovation. The olive press provided the model for the printing press, and moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet. Gutenberg developed metal types for each of the 26 characters of the Roman alphabet and devised a way of moving them around so as to compose different words of the text. This came to be known as the moveable type printing machine. It remained the basic print technology over the next 300 years. The Gutenberg press could print 250 sheets on one side per hour. The first book printed here was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took three years to produce them. By the standards of the time this was fast production.(b) Erasmus's idea of the printed book — Erasmus, a Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer was against printing of books. He criticised the printing of books because he thought that most of the books are stupid, ignorant, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious. He insisted that the printing of books will be hurtful to scholars. The learned section and their writings will lose their value due to swarming books.(c) The Vernacular Press Act — The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878. It was modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. From now on, the government kept regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces. When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the printing machinery confiscated. This act helped the government to keep a tab on growing patriotism and movements in India.

Question 4

Question 3What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:(a) Women(b) The poor(c) Reformers

Accepted Answer

(a) Women — Women in India were immensely affected by the print culture. Lives and feelings of women began to be written in particularly vivid and intense ways. Women’s reading, therefore, increased enormously in middle-class homes. Liberal husbands and fathers began educating their womenfolk at home, and sent them to schools when women’s schools were set up in the cities and towns after the mid-nineteenth century. Girls of conservative families secretly learnt to read and write. Many journals began carrying writings by women, and explained why women should be educated. As a result some women like Rashsundari Debi and Kailashbashini Debi, became writers. Rashsundari Debi wrote her autobiography Amar Jiban which was published in 1876. It was the first full-length autobiography published in the Bengali language.(b) The poor — Printing made small books and booklets affordable for poor people. Enlightening essays were written against caste discrimination and its inherent injustices. Workers in factories were too overworked and lacked the education to write much about their experiences. But Kashibaba, a Kanpur millworker, wrote and published "Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal" in 1938 to show the links between caste and class exploitation. The poems of another Kanpur millworker, who wrote under the name of Sudarshan Chakr between 1935 and 1955, were brought together and published in a collection called "Sacchi Kavitayan". Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of 'low caste' protest movements, wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his Gulamgiri (1871). In the twentieth century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Madras, better known as Periyar, wrote powerfully on caste and their writings were read by people all over India. Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular journals and tracts criticising ancient scriptures and envisioning a new and just future.(c) Reformers — The introduction of Printing in India had a significant impact on reformers. This was a time of intense controversies between social and religious reformers and the Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry. In Bengal, as the debate developed, tracts and newspapers proliferated, circulating a variety of arguments. It facilitated the dissemination of ideas, enabling reformers to reach a wider audience. Reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy utilized print media to promote social and religious reforms, fostering awareness and discussion among the masses. This played a crucial role in shaping the intellectual landscape during the nineteenth century.

Print Culture and the Modern World

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